Boot



May 18, 1943 w. s. LAIRD 2,319,239

BOOT

Filed June 10, 1939 Patented May 18, 1943 BOOT v William G. Laird, Maywood, Ill., assignor to Sears, Roebuck and 00., Chicago, 111., a corporation of New York Application June 10, 1939, Serial No. 27 ,509

2 Claims.

This invention relates to boots and is concerned more particularly with mens boots adapted to be worn over work and dress shoes.

It is an object of my invention to provide a rubber boot shaped to facilitate insertion and removal of a shod foot.

It is another object to provide a rubber boot adapted to accommodate a shod foot and to preclude pumping of the shoe therein. H

A further object is to provide a. boot of the character referred to which accommodates itself to the shape of the wearers leg without fatiguing pressure.

An additional object is to provide a resilient boot which stands erect Without assistance, ready to receive the shoe worn by the user. 7

It is a further object to provide about of the character referred to having a'ballooned mouth adapted to admit a shoe without substantial distortion or stretching of the boot. 7

Another object is to provide a boot of the character referred to in which the foxing. is protected at the heel.

It is also an object to provide a boot affording increased yieldability at most appropriate zones.

A further object resides in the provision of means to facilitate removal of the boot.

It is an additional object to provide'a boot in which the distortion due to donning and removing the boot is substantially localized and reduced.

Another object is to provide a last shaped to form a boot substantially ballooned upward from the ankle and with a flat shin-covering portion.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the description proceeds.

The invention will be better understood upon reference to the following description and the accompanying drawing, in which:'

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an illustrative embodiment of av boot constructed inv accordance with the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same, showing the shape of the mouth, taken as indicated by the line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows the shape of the boot when a shoe is partly inserted.

Fig. .5 shows a shoe and leg fitted in the boot.

Figs.'6. and 7 are plan sectional views taken as indicated by the line 6-6 in Fig. 4, respectively before and during the stretching of the boot by the shoe as the shoe is inserted.

Figs. 8 and 9 are views similar to Figs. 1 and 2,

respectively, but'show a last adapted to the formation of the boot.-

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, I have chosen for convenience in illustrating the invention a. boot l5 which may be made wholly of elastic rubber and stretchy fabric. The

boot is constructed to accommodate a shod footand leg, and comprises accordingly a tread l6 having a sole l8, heel 20 and shank 2 l, the latter preferably being relatively shallow inasmuch as the shoe of the wearer will furnish the needed arching for the proper support of the foot.

A section 23 suitably secured to the sole provides the toe 24 and. vamp 25, said section being readily flexible and resilient and being formed preferably of fabric and rubber. A second section 28 has its forward margin 29 vulcanized to the section 23 and lap-seamed vertically at 30 at the rear. Thesection 23 is shaped to the'remainder of the boot, providing the quarter3l, the counter 32, the shin covering portion 35, and the calf covering portion 36. The section 228 assumes a predetermined shape when-unstressed, but it may be distorted, without the need of stretching, by the application of almost inappreciable effort.

The fore section 23 provides an instep 40, and has an upward extension 4! fronting the lower part 42 of the shin portion of the boot, providing a preferably unstretchable' double thickness along an area where such reinforcement is needed, due among other things tothe pressure exerted by the toe and front of the sole of the shoe, especially as the latter is inserted into the boot.

A combined shield and back stay 43 covers the counter 32 and extends upward to overlie a substantial part of the seam 30, preferably terminating upward short of the mouth 41 of the boot. The back stay affords reinforcement for that portion of the boot against which the heel of the shoe is forced with'substantial pressure as the shoe is inserted, as is evident from Fig. 4.

The section 28 is preferably lined with a stretchy fabric 49except at the opposed ankle areas" 50 between the reinforced and'relatively unstretchablefore and rear upstanding portions of the boot, said areas 58 being relatively stretchable.

Upward from the ankle portion, the leg portion is preferably ballooned as shown at 53, and the ballooned portion is preferably highly flexible and will elongate in a fore and art line or direction in response to insertionof thegshoe, ;witho ut apsume a more comfortable angle at the instep as.

the shoe approaches a position requiring the exertion of force on the part of the wearer to' complete insertion of the shoe.

The ankle portion 55 of the boot is of substantially reduced width as shown toconform with the ankle portion of the shod foot. Instead of extending the fore part of the leg portion straight down substantially to the instep as in conventional boot constructions, I commence the forward curvature of the front well above the in step in order to provide further space for the toe of the shoe so as to facilitate its insertion into the boot with minimum discomfort to the wearer in the process.

When the shoe is fully inserted, there is considerable clearance between the wearers leg and the upper shoe portion and the wall of the boot, as is evident from Fig. 5. This clearance will be taken up by the clothing of the wearer, providing a comfortably snug fit. The easy yieldability of the leg portion 53 of the boot allows it to distort without; fatiguing pressure on the wearers leg to conform to the latter Whether still or moving.

The boot extends forward slightly at the rear as shown at 56 to overhang the corresponding partyof the shoe for preventing slap or pumping of the shoe heel in the boot.

The shoe is of course inserted-at an angle, an when the front part of the shoe is adjacent the reinforced fore part the heel of the shoe is adjacent the back stay 46. The insertion proceeds until the shoe toe reaches the boot tread as shown in Fig. 4, without substantial effort on the part of the wearer. 4 substantially to that shown in Fig. 5, the wearer From the position shown in Fig.

must exert substantial force to pass th inwardly projecting rear part 56. Since the sole of the shoe at such time cannot bend very easily, this pressure is applied to the instep 40 and to the rear part in the vicinity of the portion 55. Since these portions of the boot are preferably relatively unstretchable for the purpose, among others, of imparting a certain fixity of shape to the boot when unstressed, and sinc the ankle portions are purposely relatively highly stretchable, the portions 50 will stretch underthe force referred to sufficiently to allow the shOe to be fully inserted, said portions 50 immediately resuming their original or unstressed shape.

A foxing strip 60 may be applied as shown. To protect the foxing as well as the counter 6| of the back stay 46 from being worn at the heel by repeated applications of the toe of one shoe or boot when removing the other boot, the counter 6| is covered at the rear thereof by an outside counter 62 against which the toe of the m'ated shoe or boot will rub during the removing process. Additionally, the heel of the boot sole is formed with a spur 63 covering :a substantial portion of the outside counter and foxing at the heel and engageable by the mated shoe or boot for easy removal without injury to the boot bein removed.

A last 66 for forming the interior shape of the boot referred to is illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. The rubber at the mouth 41 of the boot is sufficiently stretchable to readily undergo the stretching necessary to peel it down the upper legportion 6'! of the last until the level of maximum girth, substantially at 68, is reached. From this point downward the girth of the leg section undergoes a substantial reduction, and the peeling of the rubber down the same requires little or negligible effort. The counter portion of the boot is thereupon shoved or pulled free of the last as it would be from a shoe counter, whereupon the boot is completely removed from the last. Thus a one-piece last may be used in place of the conventional two-piece last, although a conventional last having two or more pieces may be used if desired.

With the boot construction of my invention no straps, ties, lacing, Zippers or other securing or adjusting means is needed. The boot will stand erectwhen not in use but may be folded into a small compass for shipment or storage and will readily resume its shape, has a much improved appearance and may be worn in utmost comfort, is easily applied and removed, conforms itself with comfort vto the part of the person covered thereby, andis of sturdy and durable construction throughout.

The balloon of the leg portion is further advantageous because it allowsthe shod foot to breathe. The boot can be made in conventional or any other heights.

'various modifications and changes coming within the spirit of my invention may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and, hence, I do not wish to be limited to the specific forms shown or uses mentioned except to the extent indicated in the appended claims, which are to be interpreted as broadly as the state of the art will permit.

I claim:

1. An overshoe boot formed substantially entirely of rubber and cloth and devoid of attaching means and adapted to terminate upwardly adjacent and below the knee, said bootbeing resiliently flexible and normally rounded in conformity with the trousered leg of the wearer downwardly from the top thereof to a level somewhat above the ankle portion and beinggradually longer fore-and-aft downward from said top to the toe thereof and gradually narrower from side to side downward from said level to said ankle portion, to comfortably embrace the sides of the ankle while allowing clearance for the trousercuif and for facilitating insertion of the shoe, said boot being gradually wider below said ankle portion to embrace the sides of the shoe at the sole, said boot above said ankle portion being readliy distortable to elongated form by the shoe therein, the size of said boot between the top thereof and said ankle portion being such as to enable the shoe intended to be'worn in the boot without stretching said boot to penetrate substantially to said ankle portion without requiring the foot to assume an uncomfortably wide angle relative to the leg, the front and rear of said ankle portion being relatively .unstretching and the sides of said ankle portion being stretchable to admit the shoe sole to pass said portion by distortion thereof, the sides of said ankle portion and the rear lower part of the boot overhanging and engaging the adjacent vertical downwardly from said mouth to a point 10 adjacent the upper extremity of the ankle portion of the boot, said point being engageable by the toe of said shoe when the heel of said shoe is disposed at the rear of and within said mouth in the process of putting on the boot, said boot 15 being inclined downward and forward from said point to the rear of the toe of the boot, said inclined portion being spaced from the adjacent portion of the shoe when the shoe is fully inserted, in order not to interfere with bending of the foot at the rear of the toe, the upper rear portion of said leg part from said mouth being inclined downward and rearward, affording with the first mentioned inclined portion fore-and-aft clearance whereby the shoe may be passed to and removed from its fully inserted position without necessitating the holding of the shod foot at an uncomfortably wide angle relative to the leg of the wearer.

WILLIAM G. LAIRD. 

